it seems only yesterday where we waited anxiously for our turn at the HDB office. the 'ooh' and 'wow' goes on excitedly when we unlocked the door for the 1st time.
so, how's the first year in our home? (just the flat itself. will comment on the reno ...etc later)
1. premier price DO NOT EQUAL premier flats
from workmanship to material used... i really dont understand what, where and why is this branded as a premier flat?? the standard bto(s) are getting the same main door and same main gate as we do, so... ???!!! what's so premier about it?
2. lousy workmanship
from rain seeping through 'invisible' cracks to hollow timber flooring. rubbish hidden from view behind and inside pipes left by inconsiderate FOREIGN TALENTS!! mind you, we paid premier price for lousy workmanship!!
uneven flooring, doors that cant be lock/unlock...etc.
3. cat & mouse game
after submitting our defect list, we have to endure and put ourselves at the mercy of those FOREIGN TALENTS!!! language is a huge barrier!! Mr Ah Tiong's chinese proves to be too cheem for us to understand and our ang moh sounds like swearing to Mr Ah Neh. The work just drags on as these so called FOREIGN TALENTS will take their very own sweet time to play 'ball games', passing the 'ball' all around the court.
4. premier prices DO NOT EQUAL premier fittings
not so long ago, i did an entry about my faulty shower holder. at first, i though, we are just being too rough to it, but that doesnt seems the case. there's at least another handful of residents who complaint that the shower knobs, handle and even switch that toggles between the taps came off within less than a year of usage!
toilet bowls that leaks?? pipes got choke because our FOREIGN TALENTs conveniently pour cement, throw masking tapes and all sorts of wires and rubbish into it!
lagi power! electrical current that constant got tripped b'cos of loose connections! some of our neighbours reported that a short-circuit caused a mini fire at the switch board!
such things were never heard of in the past!! (even there is, it's probably 1 in a million case.)
5. i rather not have a premier flat
premier flats comes with flooring. standard flats dont....correct me if i'm wrong. in that case, i rather opt for a standard flat.
THOSE CERAMIC AND TIMBER FLOORING REALLY CMI! GOT EXTRA $$ I SURE HACK AND THROW AWAY!
those ceramic tiles in the living room n kitchen is really hard to maintain. within 5mins of mopping, foot prints re-surface. water on the kitchen floor left to dry on it's own will leave unsightly stain on the floor...zzz.
the timber flooring is another pain the neck! within the 1st week of moving in, we have scratches, by the end of the month, the shiny polished floor was gone. we were so paranoid about maintaining the floor, we have to restrict the kids from playing in the room and remind ourselves to be gentle and make sure we dry our mop thoroughly during house keeping. by the half year mark... we just pretend not to see, not to know. give up!! it's just too tiring.
my previous flat had broken marble flooring, therefore stains and dust is not easily detected. my parents' flat was laid with homogeneous tiles, maintenance is a breeze.
the current ceramic flooring can really drive a housewife mad!!!
6. premier flat DO NOT EQUAL premier environment
the residents in amk dbss are protesting because some new buildings are being squeeze in around their area barely a year they move in.
come'on complaint, protest...in the end??? got use meh?
when we 1st stepped into the flat, we can see the lrt track, we can even see big vessels sailing thru the straits. twelve months down the road, we can only see concrete walls and DIRECTLY INTO uncompleted units of punggol emerald.
7. transportation sucks!
there's only 1 service, bus 43 that serves from the interchange to marine parade via serangoon... and it tooks ages to wait?!?
though another service bus 119, coming soon serves from changi to hougang...why would one take a bus when mrt from punggol to hougang takes less than 10mins?? honestly, it makes no sense to me.
another ridiculous sight to note is the lrt... way before we collected the keys, the lrt system had been doing test runs and till date, they still are!! what's there to test?? got $$ give them, they dont want??? rather waste $$ to run EMPTY trains??? no logic at all?
8. amenities sucks!
can die but dont fall sick! they nearest clinic is 1.05KM away. it's a 2mins drive or a 10mins walk.
stock up your kitchen! nearest supermarket is also 1.05KM away. so, if you dont drive or lazy to walk, be warned. btw, no straight bus nor lrt to ply the route. good workout carrying bags of groceries then walk back to your estate.
cook your own meals. SGD4.00 for a plate of CKT with rotten prawns. SGD1.00 for a piece of prata kosong. otherwise, just order tingkat.
9. layout sucks
the several accidents that happened in both our carparks due to many blind spots, flow of traffic that doesnt make sense and poor lighting. need me to elaborate more?
can you ran 50m in a straight line without running into a pillar at your void deck?? honestly, there isnt a void deck to speck of in the 1st place and now they are trying to squeeze a childcare centre between those pillars?!
10. frustrating feature
a walkway that doesnt protects you from heavy rain nor provides shelter from the blazing sun...then why build it there in the 1st place??
a door covering up the staircase, nice, but issit necessary?
only 2 lifts serving 16 floors each with 6 units... how u wish u have a pair of wings especially during those peak hours where everyone is rushing off to school and work.
and the list goes on...honestly, it's frustrating since there are more to be listed, in the end, there's nothing good about this place. this neighbourhood, this estate.
the only good thing...
1. the lrt station is right at my door step and the mrt station is just 5mins walk away.
2. no more noisy kids running/yelling outside my corridor now that i'm at the extreme corner unit.
cant really think of any liao.
anyway, cant shift till 5 years later. so just grind my gigis and bear with it, for the time being. in the end, the verdict of purchasing this new house...
